Kidmore End secures Clubmark accreditation

4 December 2007

Mark Roche presents Clubmark certificate

The historic Kidmore End Cricket Club, based at Gallowstree Common near Reading has been presented with the ECB Clubmark Accreditation certificate as part of the plan to develop the Club as a hub of the local community.

Kidmore End, which was founded in 1863 and is one of the oldest clubs in the Reading region, has been identified as a Focus Club by the Berkshire Cricket Board due to its strategic and geographical importance and its ability to deliver the development objectives of the County.

In recent years, officials at the Club have established a reputation for good practice in administration, and player and facility development and have made a commitment to further improving facilities and administration.

The Clubmark certificate guarantees a base level of quality in all areas of health and safety and child protection and represents the first stage of a Development Plan, aligned to the County Development Plan, which is designed to bring a wealth of benefits to the Club including a guarantee of future funding.

The ECB and Sport England Clubmark Accreditation scheme is a national programme that seeks to recognise ‘safe, effective and child friendly’ practices within clubs. With it comes a range of benefits, not least the profile the scheme brings and the positive messages it sends to the local community, schools, community groups, local authorities and other local funding agencies about the quality and safety of a Cricket Club's junior section.

The certificate was presented by Mark Roche, Cricket Development Manager for Berkshire, who has worked closely with the Club to secure its accreditation.

"Kidmore End CC should be commended for their approach to club development as they continue to be a focal point within their local community, and are one of only nine clubs within Berkshire to have achieved this important accreditation,” he said.

The club has dedicated coaching staff who run regular junior coaching sessions, including summer and winter cricket schools, maintain good relationships with all local schools and communities - encouraging young cricketers to make the transition from school cricket to club cricket.

The ECB, through its strategic plan Building Partnerships has set a national milestone of over 1000 cricket clubs achieving ECB Clubmark accreditation by 2009. The individual successes of the 950 accredited clubs to date sets the recreational game in good stead to achieve the 2009 target.

The ECB is one of over 22 national governing bodies of sport that deliver Clubmark accreditation. Across England over 5,000 sports clubs are working towards achieving the criteria.